
In the film
Old, which SciFi Vision was provided on 4K for review, Guy (Gael García Bernal) and Prisca Cappa (Vicky Krieps) are about to get a divorce but decide to take one last family vacation before breaking it to their two children, 11-year-old Maddox (Alexa Swinton) and 6-year-old Trent (Nolan River). Prisca is elated to find such a great deal for a resort online, and when they get there, they are offered access to a secluded too-good-to-be-true beach. They are not completely alone, however, as another family, including surgeon Charles (Rufus Sewell), his wife Chrystal (Abbey Lee), their 6-year-old daughter Kara, and his elderly mother, Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant) are offered the same access. Things get a little odd when the driver taking them to the beach (Shyamalan) gives them way too much packed food and sends them the rest of the way on foot. They soon discover that this paradise is even less exclusive and that it’s already occupied by rapper Mid-Sized Sedan (Aaron Pierre), and later another couple, nurse Jarin (Ken Leung) and Patricia Carmichael (Nikki Amuka-Bird).
Everything is fine until a body washes up on shore and accusations start flying. Things go from bad to worse when the adults notice that the children have aged by about five years. They also quickly discover that they are unable to leave, as they black out and end up back on the beach. Time continues to pass, and they realize that if they can’t get off the island, they may die of old age in the space of a day.
As with other films by Shyamalan, who both wrote and directed the movie, it can be quite dark and chilling at times. As much of it takes place in an open area on a beach, the seclusion and using the rocks and cliffs the way they did gives it that foreboding claustrophobia. The director found ways to make the alluring also feel sinister.